Coordinated campaign in Haverhill for the Democratic ticket: Saturday and Sunday. Canvass shifts are usually at 10 am, 12 pm, and 2pm, however, please contact Danny Adames at [email protected] or call 978-397-5908 for canvassing, phone banks, and other activities in Haverhill MA. Meeting place for Haverhill activities is the field office at 310 Main St. in Haverhill next to Walgreens.

Texting to MA Voters to get the vote out. Indivisible groups in MA will soon be able to text with Hustle to GOTV in MA! PLEASE SIGNUP here and include as group name Greater Haverhill Indivisible. The Mass Dems will be in touch soon with the workflow assignments. Instructions will be sent after you signup. Please also Create Hustle Account by visiting web.hustle.life/signup.Privacy info about Hustle is provided below at the end of page.

1) TEXTING

Indivisible in Andover are texting at Cafe Nero every Tuesday at 630; and Demet of Haverhill will be having a seminar on Texting at 8pm at her house this Tuesday, 10/30. Texting is a great way to Swing Congress on the national level. I have met with Indivisible in Andover. They are doing Texting of Congressional Candidates every Tuesday at Cafe Nero on the main street in Andover at 630p.

I texted with them on Tuesday (10/2). It was a lot of fun and very fast. I texted 150 voters in Florida in 20 minutes. Once you get setup on your phone, tablet or laptop (or home computer) you can text voters all day long. They are working with the Environmental Voter Project.You can text on your device at home, once you are set up.

Coordinated campaign in Haverhill for the Democratic ticket: and Sun. Canvass shifts are usually at 10 am, 12 pm and 2pm, however, please contact Danny Adames at [email protected] or call 978-397-5908 for canvassing, phone banks and other activities in Haverhill MA. Meeting place for Haverhill activities is the field office at 310 Main St. in Haverhill next to Wallgreens.

Review this video. If you know people in any of these states, please reach out to them and ask them to vote these people out.

Go to the Vote Save America website. On this website you can check to see if you’re registered, If you’e not, you can register. You can research the candidates for your local election; ballot measures too. You can also get involved locally or nationally in campaigns across this country and your own town. Please share this site with all of your friends and family in other states. Remind them that voters in many states are being purged from the voting rolls.

September 23, 2018

If you have five minutes. . . .

Make a commitment to vote November 6. Be sure you are registered and know your voting location. Talk to at least 3 friends and make sure they are committed to vote.

The current administration continues to place families in detention centers.

Please call Niki Tsongas: 202-225-3411

Here is what to say:

Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from Haverhill. I’m calling to demand that Rep. Niki Tsongas oppose any effort to overrule the Flores settlement and allow the indefinite detention of migrant families. Alternative methods, such as the Family Case Management Program, have already proven successful and cost effective. Congress must work to fund and implement these methods instead of inhumane detention of children and families. Thank you for your time and attention. [IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]

Call Senators Ed Markey 202-224-2742 and Elizabeth Warren 202-224-4543 with either of the following scripts:

Hi, my name is _____, and I’m a constituent from Haverhill.

I’m calling to urge Senator Markey/Warren to demand that the Senate delay any vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh until the FBI investigates the serious and credible attempted rape allegations against Kavanaugh. His accuser’s allegations have been deemed highly credible, and law enforcement must assess her claims before Kavanaugh can be seated on our nation’s highest court. Thank you for your time and attention.

IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.

Or use this script:

Hi, my name is ____, and I’m a constituent from Haverhill.

I’m calling to urge Senator Markey/Warren to speak out against Brett Kavanaugh and demand he withdraw his nomination for the Supreme Court. The serious and credible allegations against Kavanaugh show he is not fit to serve on and must remove himself from consideration immediately.

Thank you for your time and attention.

IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied.

If you have five minutes. . . .

Note: this is a re-run of the July 15 action items to #SaveScotus.

First, the bad news: understand that Republicans hold power in the Senate, and they can vote to affirm Kavanaugh with no Democratic votes. Now, the good — or hopeful — news: there is a slim path to defeat Kavanaugh.

Remember the health care fight? Remember when people overwhelmingly rallied to save the Affordable Care Act? That needs to happen again.

Phone calls:

Call Senators Warren and Markey first. Yes, they will not vote to confirm Kavanaugh, so thank them and urge them to do everything they can to block this nomination. Call more than once. They need to know that this is worth fighting for.

Contact your friends in other states and encourage them to make phone calls to their senators. You can give them the number of the U.S. Capitol Switchboard, at (202) 224-3121, to facilitate phone calls.

Write a letter to the editor. This will take longer than 5 minutes, of course, but schedule it into your day now, gather some resources (any of the links in this action item list), and have at it. Here are some tips from Duke University on how to write an effective article.

Read this from Ezra Levin:

If you want to get plugged into more local advocacy opportunities, you can text “SCOTUS” to 977-79 (that’s for @IndivisibleTeam).

But if the choice is between real-world action and money, PLEASE take action. It was a quixotic people power campaign that killed TrumpCare. People power will #SaveSCOTUS. Red state, blue state, purple state – doesn’t matter. We need you in this fight with us now.

August 22, 2018

If you have five minutes. . . .

Scroll down to July 15. The #SaveSCOTUS action items are more important than ever. With the president implicated in a crime, we must not have a Supreme Court Justice with Kavanaugh’s views of presidential power. And then scroll down to June 17 — more than 500 children are still separated from their families because of the Trump administration’s family separation policy, and organizations can use your help. Listen to The Daily podcast, August 21, 2018: Divided, Part 1: How Family Separations Started.

2. Time is running out — the September 4 primary is less than 2 weeks away! If you haven’t decided who to support for the Third Congressional race, please take a few minutes to get to know these candidates:

3. Know the important dates, stats, and candidate facts for these 2018 primary elections. Get the top 10 things all Massachusetts voters should know delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up with Ballotpedia today.

4. Check out Vote.org — everything you need to vote: check your registration, get your absentee ballot, find out where to go on election day, and get election reminders. If you are on top of the voting situation, share this site with friends in other states. Remember that Republicans are purging voter lists, so checking registration is very important!

Postcarding, Saturdays at Panera

Postcarding to Swing Congress.

We have been post carding now for over 6 weeks, supporting US Congressional Candidates, as well as down ballot candidates in State Assemblies, etc. We must Swing Congress and take it back from the Republicans. If we do not do this Trump will be in a stronger position to be re-elected.

Every Saturday (except Labor Day Weekend) Panera, Plaistow, 2:30 -4p. We are planning to postcard every Saturday, on going until the election. (HDCC Action Committee, Swing Congress).

Also, we are going to begin Hub dialing or Hub texting in the near future.

Boston Swing Left.

Voter Support for nearby Congressional Districts

Jared Golden – Maine 2nd Congressional District

Jared Golden (ME-02) is a progressive, military veteran, and experienced political leader in Maine. He has an excellent chance at defeating conservative Republican incumbent, Bruce Poliquin, a millionaire real estate developer—New England’s only Republican member of Congress. Join Maine Democratic Party Chair Phil Bartlett, Congressman Joseph Kennedy III, and Newton Democrats for a private reception in Newton. Let’s make New England blue! Join us, or donate to support Jared https://secure.actblue.com/donate/jgfm?refcode=SHL . Sponsored by Force Multiplier and Newton Democrats.

350.0rg Movement – September 8 – Global Rallies – Boston

In 2017, we proved that the climate movement would be a key pillar of the Trump resistance, and launched a grassroots effort to stop every new fossil fuel project and build 100% renewable energy in towns and cities nationwide.

Just days after we take to the streets, hundreds of local elected leaders are invited to make climate commitments at the Global Climate Action Summit to “prevent dangerous climate change and realize the historic Paris Agreement.”1

The Trump Administration can only continue their attacks on our climate future with the cooperation of local and state governments.

Our leaders must put people before profits, keep fossil fuels in the ground, and create a just transition for workers in a 100% renewable energy economy. The only way they’ll do it is if we’re visible, vocal, and impossible to avoid.

There are bold, creative actions planned in 322 cities across 62 countries. This will be the biggest chance to send a message to Trump, and the local elected leaders who could stand in his way.

Right now we’re seeing deadly heat waves around the world and unprecedented wildfires across the country. California is in the midst of the largest fire in the state’s history, Japan just recorded its highest temperature ever, and record heat in Pakistan and India resulted in approximately 4,000 deaths in the last four years.2

This will be a day where the creativity, size, and power of the climate movement will match the size of the crisis we’re facing. It will put local leaders on the spot, and ask them: are you with us, or are you with Trump and the fossil fuel billionaires wrecking the planet?

Democratic National Committee – Backsliding on Fossil Fuel

The day before yesterday, the Democratic National Committee voted to break its promise and start taking money from fossil fuel companies again. Tell the DNC this reversal is unacceptable, and demand they stop taking money from Big Oil, Coal and Gas.

In their justification, the DNC said they would accept the dirty donations because they supported an “all of the above” energy strategy.

Are you kidding me? California is on fire and a heatwave is scorching the country coast to coast, but the bureaucrats at the DNC are back to kissing the boots of Big Oil instead of supporting the bold climate action we need.

Scroll down to July 15. The #SaveSCOTUS action items are still valid. If you’ve done them, do them again! If not, no time like the present. And then scroll down to June 17 — there are still families divided by the Trump administration’s family separation policy, and organizations can use your help.

Local (Haverhill) — plastic bag ban: The City Council will meet on Tuesday, Aug.7 at 7pm at City Hall, to take a final vote on the plastic bag ban for Haverhill. Please call 978-374–2328 or email the Haverhill City Council members or Jim Fiorentini at [email protected]. Please express your support of this ban, except protest the addition of “biodegradable plastic bags.” These bags have added chemicals, and they don’t break down in cold temperatures ( in the ocean, for example). According to the Sierra Club, avoid “oxodegradable plastics that are polyethylene with an unnamed chemical additive.” Most municipalities do not allow these bags because paper bags are readily available. Please attend the August 7 meeting if you can. (Thanks to Demet Haksever for this information.)

Local (Massachusetts) — #AVRinMA: Automatic voter registration in Massachusetts passed both the House and the Senate. All that’s needed is for Governor Baker to sign the bill. Contact Governor Baker at 617 725.4005. Tell him to sign the AVR bill, H.4667 as soon as it lands on his desk. You can also email Governor Baker HERE; TWEET to @GovernorBaker using #AVRinMA. For more information, see #AVR in MA: Action Plan.

Local (Massachusetts) — immigrant reunification: From 5calls.org, call Governor Charlie Baker at 617-725-4005 and ask that he publicly demand that the Department of Health and Human Services immediately formulate a plan to reunite the remaining migrant children separated from their families by the Trump administration.

National — voting: Know people who don’t vote or who aren’t registered? Remind them that #TheVoteOfYourLife is about 100 days away: Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Share Indivisible’s Turbo Vote, where they can sign up, check registration, and get updates on local elections. Tweet the #TheVoteOfYourLife hashtag because Nov. 6th will be the most important vote of our lives.

A series of outside groups and committees, viewing the race as one of the last referendums on President Donald Trump before November’s midterms, have steadily poured money into the special election in Ohio’s 12th Congressional District, ratcheting up the national implications in the race between Democrat Danny O’Connor and Republican Troy Balderson.

A test run for November

The uptick in money and attention is the latest sign that both Democrats and Republicans are closely watching the special election as a sign of how each party will fare in November. The congressional district, whose seat was opened when Rep. Pat Tiberi retired, has long been represented by Republicans and in another political environment would likely be out of reach for most Democrats.

What has surprised Democrats most in the race, however, is the fact that Republicans have largely abandoned the pro-tax reform messaging that national operatives called central to their 2018 strategy just months ago.

Crunch Time: Ohio 7 Special Election

Set aside at least one hour to phone bank from home for Danny O’Connor. Ohio-07 voted for Trump is ready to reject a Trump-loving candidate in favor of a Democrat. This is an opportunity to have an impact right now!

To Text for Danny O’Conner for Congress in Ohio:

Put in Browser – https://www.textthevote.com

On the web site, hit volunteer to register and they will send an email to open account.

CENTER for BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Save the Endangered Species Act

The Endangered Species Act is under attack like never before.

The Trump administration has rolled out a series of proposals to weaken protections for endangered animals and plants, make it easier for their most precious habitat to be drilled and bulldozed, and ensure hundreds of species waiting for protection face even more lethal delays.

Meanwhile Republicans in Congress have once again snuck harmful riders into three must-pass bills to fund the government and authorize the military. It adds up to the worst attack the Endangered Species Act has ever seen. From wolves and grizzly bears to monarchs and burying beetles, everything has a target on its back.

Wolves could lose protection nationwide. Toxic pesticides could be exempt from environmental review. And threatened wildlife could be forced to wait for lifesaving protection while industry gets the green light to destroy our public lands. And that’s just a glimpse of what Congress is trying to get away with.

Will you tell your senators they must oppose these environmental attacks?

Over the past seven years, Congress has launched hundreds of backdoor attempts to gut the Endangered Species Act and sidestep the laws that protect our air, water and public lands.

Right now the attacks are at a fever pitch, and some of the worst proposals stand a chance of passing. If enacted into law, they would fundamentally alter which species get protected, how critical habitat is chosen, and whether climate change can be considered a factor at all.

First, the bad news: understand that Republicans hold power in the Senate, and they can vote to affirm Kavanaugh with no Democratic votes. Now, the good — or hopeful — news: there is a slim path to defeat Kavanaugh.

Remember the health care fight? Remember when people overwhelmingly rallied to save the Affordable Care Act? That needs to happen again.

Phone calls:

Call Senators Warren and Markey first. Yes, they will not vote to confirm Kavanaugh, so thank them and urge them to do everything they can to block this nomination. Call more than once. They need to know that this is worth fighting for.

Contact your friends in other states and encourage them to make phone calls to their senators. You can give them the number of the U.S. Capitol Switchboard, at (202) 224-3121, to facilitate phone calls.

Write a letter to the editor. This will take longer than 5 minutes, of course, but schedule it into your day now, gather some resources (any of the links in this action item list), and have at it. Here are some tips from Duke University on how to write an effective article.

Read this from Ezra Levin:

If you want to get plugged into more local advocacy opportunities, you can text “SCOTUS” to 977-79 (that’s for @IndivisibleTeam).

But if the choice is between real-world action and money, PLEASE take action. It was a quixotic people power campaign that killed TrumpCare. People power will #SaveSCOTUS. Red state, blue state, purple state – doesn’t matter. We need you in this fight with us now.

June 11, 2018 (updated June 17, 2018)

If you have five minutes. . . .

Many are deeply upset at what is happening on our borders — children being taken forcibly from their parents and kept in detention centers. Although we sit a continent away, there are ways we can help:

Call Congress. Find out who represents you in Washington, and let them know you want the practice of family separation to end. Ask them to support bills that will help reunited children already taken from their parents and also prohibit future removals. Those include the Senate’s HELP Separated Children Act and Keep Families Together Act. The American Civil Liberties Union offers a script for calling the Senate, though we suspect most callers will be able to find the right words themselves.

From Indivisible: Make a call to end family separation. The heartbreaking details of the Trump administration’s treatment of children continue to unfold. Call on your member of Congress (MoC) and urge them to speak out against this cruel policy.

Donate to legal and humanitarian efforts.(See also this page for a more complete and updated list of organizations that you can help.) Immigrants, even children, have no guarantee of legal representation as they pursue asylum or face deportation. Most do not know their rights or speak English well enough to represent themselves. In 75 percent of cases where children had counsel, an immigration judge determined they had a strong enough claim for asylum or humanitarian protection and allowed them to stay in the United States.

Sign MoveOn’s petition, which will be hand delivered to Kirstjen Nielsen, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security: Stop separating families at the border.

Call the Department of Health and Human Services and demand that Scott Lloyd, current head of HHS Office of Refugee Resettlement, resign: 202-205-5445. From the 5calls script page, Lloyd’s policies are causing unaccompanied minor and immigrant children to be detained for months or even years, separated from families.

***********************

The Massachusetts Senate passed a budget that included amendment # 1147, which spelled out protections for undocumented residents of our state:

No police inquiries about immigration status.

Ends 287 contracts between county sheriffs and ICE that deputize them as immigration agents.

Due process protection for immigrants

Massachusetts will not contribute to any registry based on protected categories (religion, ethnicity, etc. )

Please ask your state representative to express support to the House Joint Conference Committee for the protections in amendment 1147.

RAISE UP MASSACHUSETTS

Time is running out on the legislative calendar, and it’s time for us to send a message. After six months of negotiations with the legislature and business groups, our message is clear: It’s time to pass comprehensive Paid Family and Medical Leave and a $15 Minimum Wage.

The latest proposal we have received from the Retailers Association for a $15 Minimum Wage continues to insist on anti-worker changes that would violate our coalition’s core principles by harming workers or leaving vulnerable families behind. We want to tell the legislature that we will only accept comprehensive policies that don’t hurt workers and families. We will not accept policies such as a sub-minimum wage for teens or the elimination of Sunday time-and-a-half pay.

Will you join us for a week of action this week to send our message loud and clear?

By taking action with us, you can help us tell the legislature that they can avoid the ballot by passing a sensible minimum wage increase that moves all workers forward. It’s time to pass $15 minimum wage legislation we can all celebrate, with a 50 percent tipped credit, no teen sub-minimum wage, and no elimination of Sunday time-and-a-half pay.

UU Mass Action Newsletter

June 11, 2018

RALLY TO PROTECT IMMIGRANT FAMILIES– Here’s how you can take action!

We have a significant opportunity to pass statewide protections of basic rights for Immigrants here in Massachusetts, but only if we create an avalanche of advocacy right now! Many of you have already taken action – thank you! Here’s what we need to do now:1. Sign this letter – the letter will be delivered to the conference committee members, Speaker DeLeo and the Governor at the action on June 13th (read the letter) Sign, and then share with 10 of your friends, post on Facebook, post in your congregation’s communication – anything, just help get the word out.

2. Come to the Rally on Wed June 13th at 10:30 AM – we need lots of people, especially clergy! We will meet at the State House Steps at 10:30 AM. Then, we’ll enter the State House together, march through the halls singing together, as we deliver the letters. We will occupy the space outside of the Governor’s office reminding him #FamiliesNotFear and #DontDeportMyDad (#DontDeportMyDad is in honor of Father’s Day)

When we are outside of the Governor’s office, we will hear testimony from our immigrant friends and neighbors. We will also invite clergy who are with us to lead us in prayer and we will sign together.

Participants: Please bring a picture of your loved ones – your children, your parents, or anyone you love. Also, please bring signs for the march. Note: big signs and signs on stick won’t make it through security. Bring an 8 ½ x 11 sign or something you can roll up and put in a backpack

3. Keep making those calls! Click the link to learn how Thank you for taking action! We can do this, but only if we work together!

BUZZ KILL X 3 FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

1. The European Union is acting to save bees from extinction. It just banned toxic neonicotinoid pesticides from all fields after a major report found that these chemicals are decimating bee populations.

But the United States is refusing to do the same – and if we don’t act soon, it could be too late for bees.

In just the last year, U.S. beekeepers reported 40.1% bee colony losses. The fact is, global bee populations are plummeting, and it’s putting our food system at risk. Friends of the Earth is leading the charge against the pesticide industry and its toxic products, but we won’t win without you standing with us. We need to hear from 15,000 activists before midnight tomorrow. Take the survey:

Should Congress ban bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides?

Use Browser: http://action.foe.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=21694

2.Tell your Senators to help save bees!

The best way to protect bees is to reduce the use of toxic pesticides — and support non-toxic management of our environment. This bill brings us closer to doing that.

Tell your Senators to support this bee-saving bill!

Pollinator Recovery Act

Dear Senator,

As your constituent, I urge you to co-sponsor Senator Merkley’s Pollinator Recovery Act to help protect pollinators and our food supply because bees and other pollinators are dying at alarming rates.

Pollinators are a critical part of our food supply. Bees are responsible for one in every three bites of food we eat and pollinators contribute as much as $577 billion in global food production and nearly $27 billion in the U.S. alone. Without them we would lose many foods such as apples, almonds and blueberries.

The U.N. estimates 40 percent of pollinator species, including bees and butterflies, are on the brink of extinction. Beekeepers have lost an average of 40 percent of their hives with some beekeepers losing 100 percent of their operations. In the past twenty years, monarch butterflies have declined by nearly 90 percent. Native bees are dying at alarming rates too. In March, the rusty patched bumble bee was listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act after having declined 87 percent in recent years. While this is an important step forward, all pollinator species need your help.

This bill would help protect pollinators by expanding conservation programs, emphasizing the development and adoption of integrated pest and vegetation management practices, increasing pollinator-friendly habitat that is regionally appropriate, offering financial and technical assistance for growers to implement a variety of conservation practices and restoration efforts on active and retired lands and increasing research into the issue.

It is vitally important that you co-sponsor The Pollinator Recovery Act and advocate for its passage this year. The reasonable steps in this bill will help protect the health of pollinators and keep bees, butterflies and other pollinators healthy and thriving.

Supermarkets can make a big impact in the fight to protect bees. They sell billions of dollars of food each year.

By investing in and selling bee-friendly food, Kroger can help transform our food system. We need YOU to make that happen!

Tell Kroger: Stop selling food produced with bee-killing pesticides!

I urge you to help protect bees, butterflies and other pollinators, upon which our food supply depends, by committing to establish a pollinator protection policy that includes the phase-out of pollinator-toxic pesticides, including neonicotinoids and glyphosate, in your company’s supply chain and encourage suppliers to employ alternative pest management strategies. I also urge your company to increase USDA certified organic food and beverages to 15 percent of overall offerings by 2025, prioritizing domestic, regional and local producers.

Bees are essential to the production of one out of every three bites of food we eat and without them your store would run out of many of the products it sells, such as strawberries, almonds, apples and broccoli. Globally, between $235 billion and $577 billion worth of annual food production relies on direct contributions by pollinators. A growing body of science points to the world’s most widely-used insecticides, neonicotinoids, as a leading factor in bee declines, and glyphosate, the most widely-used herbicide worldwide, as a key culprit in monarch butterfly declines.

A new report by Friends of the Earth, Swarming the Aisles: Rating top retailers on bee-friendly and organic food, grades 20 of the largest food retailers in the U.S on their policies and practices regarding pollinator protection, organic offerings and pesticide reduction. Of the top food retailers, 17 received an “F” for failing to have a publicly available policy to reduce or eliminate pesticide use to protect pollinators. Kroger received an F for pollinator protection as well.

The report also found that while consumer demand for organic and sustainable, pesticide-free food items is increasing and major food retailers have started to increase their organic food offerings, few major food retailers have adopted clear goals or metrics outlining policies to continue to significantly increase organic food offerings in the future. Your store provides organic food, including its own organic line, Simple Truth®, but it has not provided a metric for increasing sales in the future. According to publicly available data, Kroger’s overall organic sales are only 1 percent of its total sales. Your company’s organic sales are far behind those of its competitors such as Costco and Whole Foods.

Because you are the second-largest retailer in the U.S., I urge you to be a leader on this issue. I call on your company to adopt formal policies to stop selling food grown with neonicotinoids, glyphosate and other pollinator-toxic pesticides and significantly increase your organic offerings, prioritizing local, regional and domestic suppliers.

A YouGov Poll commissioned by Friends of the Earth and Sum of Us conducted in 2016 found that 80 percent of Americans believe it is important to eliminate neonicotinoids from agriculture. Among Americans who grocery shop for their household, 65 percent would be more likely to shop at a grocery store that has formally committed to eliminating neonicotinoids. Further, 59 percent of American grocery shoppers believe it is important for grocery stores to sell organic food, and 43 percent would be more likely to shop at a grocery store that sells more organic food than their current grocery store.

Organic farms — farms that have eliminated all synthetic pesticides — have been shown to support 50 percent more pollinator species than conventional farms while also protecting and regenerating the water, soil and other resources that we need to produce healthy food for generations to come.

As a concerned customer I ask that you help protect the bees and our food supply by committing to offer significantly more organic food options in your stores, while taking major steps to eliminate food produced with pollinator-toxic pesticides.

Thank you

Use Browser: https://us.e-activist.com/page/3605/petition/1?ea.tracking.id=Website

May 28, 2018

If you have five minutes. . . .

But if Democrats gain power, they will try to reverse these incredible gains. These are historic gains. They will try and reverse many of them. So your vote in 2018 is every bit as important as your vote in 2016 — although I’m not sure I really believe that, but you know. (Laughter.) I don’t know who the hell wrote that line. I’m not sure. (Laughter and applause.) But it’s still important.

Donald Trump, speaking at the Susan B. Anthony dinner, May 22, 2018

Local, state, and national: The biggest and most important action you can take this year is to encourage people to vote. Yes, this takes more than five minutes, but right now, in the next five minutes, write a quick list of people you can talk to about voting. And then, throughout the day, the month, and the year, ask, “Are you registered to vote?” “Remember that the primary is coming up — do you need a ride to the polls?” Sign up — and encourage others to sign up — at TurboVote. Find out if you’re registered to vote, apply for an absentee ballot, and get election reminders. Make the blue wave happen!

[bctt tweet=”Are you registered to vote? In Massachusetts, register at https://www.sec.state.ma.us/ovr/. Also sign up at https://indivisible.turbovote.org for voting reminders and information. Make the #BlueWave happen! ” via=”no”]

State: Safe Communities Act actions:

Call Speaker DeLeo — 671-722-2500 — and tell him you want him to include immigrant protections in the final budget.

And then call the Governor at 617-725-4005 and tell him to read the Senate budget amendment protection immigrant families before criticizing it. Then let him know that you are disappointed that he can’t give pro-immigrant legislation the same fair shot he gives other legislation. Read about the Safe Communities Act here.

National: use the tools at battleforthenet.com to thank Massachusetts representatives via Tweet or email for supporting a net neutrality vote in the House of Representatives. Share this site on social media and with your friends and family in red states so they can take action.

Even after these pipelines close, ratepayers like you and me will continue to pay for them, which, if you’re the Eversource Corporation – is the beauty of it. Massachusetts allows regulated pipeline companies and their investors to make the highest guaranteed profit margins in the country – up to 14% in some cases- which we pay for in our bills, until the pipelines are paid off, whether they are used or not!

Do we want more pipelines that we will never need, never use, and that we will be forced to pay for over the next 20 years? If you think that’s a good idea, please ignore this post. If not, please help us to defeat them, now and in the future.

Consumers for Sensible Energy is a non-profit, non-partisan organization whose mission is to advocate for sensible energy policies that protect consumers, communities and the economy. We join our allies in Massachusetts in their fight against gas pipelines.

Raise Up Massachusetts – $15 Living Wage, Paid Medical Leave

Collecting signatures in June

Raise Up Massachusetts is a grassroots coalition of community organizations, religious groups, and labor unions committed to building an economy that works for all of us. Since 2013, through the work of amazing volunteers like you, we’ve raised the minimum wage in the Legislature, we’ve passed earned sick time at the ballot, and we’ve collected more than 157,000 signatures and won two votes by the full state Legislature needed to place the Fair Share Amendment on the November 2018 ballot. But we still have work to do to build an economy that invests in families, gives everyone the opportunity to succeed, and creates broadly shared prosperity. That’s why this spring, we’re collecting signatures to put Paid Family and Medical Leave and a $15 minimum wage on the 2018 ballot as well.

“That which is hateful to you, do not do unto your neighbor – that is the whole Torah, and all the rest is commentary.”

(Rabbi Hillel, as reported by the Talmud Bavli, Shabbat 31b)

“America is open to receive not only the opulent and respectable Stranger, but the oppressed and persecuted of all Nations and Religion.” (George Washington, 1783)

Today we announce the creation of an interfaith congregational network in the Merrimack Valley to offer Sanctuary to undocumented immigrants who are at immediate risk of deportation.

It is immoral to force their return to countries which they may not have seen in decades, and where they may face danger and death. When we tear families apart, we tear apart the fabric of our society. As Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel asked, “How can a human being be illegal?”

The need for sanctuary is not hypothetical. Five immigrants were recently arrested at a U.S. Customs and Immigration Services office in Lawrence, as they attempted to come out of the shadows and apply for legal status in this country.

We call on other faith leaders, communities of faith, and all residents of the Merrimack Valley, and beyond, to join us in this work and to revive our country’s moral legitimacy. We call on our elected officials to pursue policies that welcome and protect the vulnerable individuals and families who come – often at great risk – to the United States of America, in search of a better life.

Join with Merrimack Valley Project and/or Your Place of Worship

http://www.merrimackvalleyproject.org/new-page/

UU Mass Action

ACTION #1: PROTECT IMMIGRANT FAMILIES

We’ve struck a nerve. The Senate budget has become a ‘battleground’ over immigration, the Herald proclaimed. On May 17, anti-immigrant groups held a press conference to spread falsehoods and stoke fear.

They’re nervous, and they should be. Because, in the Senate, we have a real chance to get new protections for immigrants included in the FY 2019 budget. Now is the time to mobilize strong support – we need you to make these calls today!

Tomorrow, Tuesday May 22, the State Senate will take up its version of the FY 2019 budget. We believe that Sen. Jamie Eldridge’s amendment #1147, which would add 4 key protections, has a good chance of succeeding; but we need to get as many Senators as possible to co-sponsor – and be ready to fight for it.

Note: If your Senator was Senator Rosenberg, you may contact any of these three Senators

Hello, my name is __________ and I live in [city or town]. I am calling to urge Senator [name] to take a stand for immigrant families by co-sponsoring Senator Eldridge’s amendment #1147. I also urge the Senator to advocate with Senate leadership, and vote for the amendment when it comes to the floor.

I also ask the Senator to OPPOSE Sen. Fattman’s amendment #1136, which would end the protections we won under the State Supreme Court’s Lunn decision.

I expect Massachusetts to take the lead in protecting immigrant families in our state. Anything less in the Trump era is unacceptable. Thank you!

4. Resolve to Stop Violence Program (RSVP)—demonstration program DOC is ready to implement for using “best practice” model to reduce violence of prisoners convicted of violent crimes. Senator Eldridge’s amendment #1042 calling for $300,000.

We’re close, but stalled. H. 4320 was favorably voted out of the Elections Committee, endorsed by Secretary Galvin, praised by Maura Healey. We’ve got 90+ Democratic Reps on board, ~25 GOP votes, and a lot of momentum, because three more states have passed AVR this year. MA H.4320 is all dressed up and ready to go! But we’re fighting inertia and competing with a lot of other bills, and time’s running out. Because our Lead Sponsor died, we all need to do a full court press if we want this to pass.

OUR GOAL NOW: TO ASK EVERY SINGLE SUPPORTER IN THE HOUSE TO ASK THE SPEAKER TO PUT AVR UP FOR A VOTE.

Massachusetts — environment: Call your state representative and ask them to petition the Ways and Means Committee to release H.4234 to the House for a vote. This is the bill that would ban single-use plastic bags statewide.

National: Call Senators Markey and Warren and ask them to oppose Gina Haspel for CIA Director. Ms. Haspal’s history running a black-ops site in Thailand and overseeing the use of torture makes her unqualified to run the CIA. For more information, see Indivisible Guide.. Use the hashtag #BlockHaspell on social media.

[bctt tweet=”Haspell’s role overseeing torture and running a black ops site makes her unqualified to run the CIA. #BlockHaspell” via=”no”]

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

All these toxic chemicals and more could soon find their way into organic agriculture — if some members of the Senate get their way.

These Senators want to strip protections from pesticides out of our national standards for organic farming. They’re trying to sneak this attack into the Farm Bill — a massive piece of legislation that touches every aspect of our food system.

Your Senators can stop this attack on organic agriculture in its tracks. But they need to hear from you today!

This attack on organic agriculture is coming straight from the pesticide industry. Pesticide companies want to undermine organic because it’s the blueprint of a future food system that doesn’t depend on the toxic chemicals they sell. The more we grow and eat organic food, the more we chip away at their profits.

Organic sales are booming while their top products — from RoundUp® to bee-killing neonics to the Agent Organic chemical 2,4-D — are up against a growing body of science that details their devastating effects on our health and the environment.

Simply put, pesticide companies want to stamp out organic. And they’re pushing their allies in the Senate to do their bidding for them.

But we all have a right to healthy, organic food free from toxic pesticides. We need more support for organic in the Farm Bill, not a sneak attack aimed at taking this healthy and sustainable option away!

The science is clear: Organic farming is better for people, pollinators, and the planet. It protects eaters, farmworkers, farmers and rural communities from exposure to toxic pesticides. It helps bees and butterflies flourish. And it’s a climate change solution because it emits fewer greenhouse gases than industrial agriculture and sequesters carbon in the soil — where it belongs.

We need a future where all food is organic. Organic farmers, farmworkers and all of us depend on a robust organic standard. We cannot let the Senate use the Farm Bill to put pesticide companies above people and the planet.

MASS DEMS

ACTION: The Mass Dems are asking that people write Letters to the Editor (Eagle Tribune, Haverhill Gazette, Boston Globe) on Att Gen Healey’s efforts on the opioid crisis.

Please me know if you write a letter and to whom, and I will let the State Democratic Committee know (They would like to keep track). Graham Schwass at [email protected]. See below for info on the opioid crisis from Mass Dems.

Dear Chair,

Opioid overdose rates have risen every year in Massachusetts since 2014. While Republicans refuse to call for new investments in prevention and treatment programs, Massachusetts Democrats have led the charge in the fight to combat the deadly opioid epidemic, which is impacting each and every community in the Commonwealth.

One of our strongest leaders on this issue has been Attorney General Maura Healey. Attorney General Healey has consistently been a champion for funding the life-saving overdose-reversal drug, Narcan. In April, she made two deposits totaling $297,000 to the Municipal Naloxone Bulk Purchase Trust Fund, which ran out of funding in the fall. The fund has previously relied on investments from Healey, who deposited $325,000 from a settlement her office reached in 2015 with a drug company, and investments from our leaders in the Legislature.

Recently, Attorney General Healey kicked off a tour of local public schools that have implemented her Project Here program, a $2 million public-private initiative to expand substance abuse prevention programs in all of our public schools. The initiative promotes social emotional learning and empowers students to make healthy decisions through its three components: an educational toolkit, a digital app, and a grant program for evidence-based curriculum. More than 200 schools across the state have registered and received the Project Here Toolkit, which provides materials including teacher guides, lesson plans, educational resources, video content, and outreach materials.

Action Alert

•Write a letter to the editor in support of Attorney General Healey’s work to combat the opioid epidemic, calling on Republican leaders to join her efforts and call for new investments for treatment and prevention programs by responding to this email

Campaign Finance – Lawrence Lessig

Action: Sign up with Equal Citizens (See link below).

EQUAL CITIZENS

FIX DEMOCRACY FIRST

Our Framers promised us a representative democracy. Our politicians have given us anything but. From the corrupting influence of money in politics, to the gerrymandering of congressional districts, to the games played to suppress the vote, to the absurd ways that states allocate Electoral College votes, our government has destroyed the core promise of a Republic — that citizens would be equal and represented equally.

Equal Citizens — a nonprofit organization founded by Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig — is dedicated to reforms that will achieve citizen equality. We will launch a series of campaigns that will end the corruption of our representative democracy by restoring the core promise of citizen equality in our Constitution.

AND THE ELEPHANTS!

SUPPORT THE WILD ACT

Mozambique’s Niassa National Reserve could be home to tens of thousands of elephants. Or the elephant population there could be zero. The choice is ours.

The problems facing African elephants and other iconic species around the world have not disappeared. Traffickers still deal in ivory. Forests are still being whittled away. We can’t let the programs we have in place to help get taken, either.

From the ACLU: The Greyhound bus company is allowing Border Patrol agents to board its buses and question and arrest passengers without a warrant. . . .Greyhound must not throw its loyal customers under the bus as part of Trump’s racist, anti-immigrant agenda. It’s unconstitutional, unfounded, and just plain wrong. By law, the company is fully capable of not allowing Border Patrol agents on board.

Thank Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren for their opposition to Pompeo and Trump’s war cabinet. Then urge your friends and family in red and blue states to call their senators and oppose Pompeo’s confirmation.

Share this and similar articles on social media and click below to Tweet:

[bctt tweet=”Pompeo is dangerous to our planet and will bring this country closer to war. #StopPompeo.” via=”no”]

Immigration

The revised Safe Communities bill – now called COPPS (HR 4603) has been backed by the Massachusetts Association of Chiefs of Police. However MIRA and Safe Communities Coalition have concerns over the bill because it allows for undocumented people who are arrested (and have prior serious convictions) to be held by local police for 6 hours in order to give ICE the opportunity to come and pick them up.

I think we should call our State Representatives and Senators and ask them to push forward on passing the bill even if some additional amendments are needed. We need to stand as a state and protect our undocumented residents even if the bill is not perfect – it is something

Federal: We must keep up the pressure on Dems and Republicans.We have not forgotten the DACA’s. We will keep on calling our members of Congress until they pass a bill that gives a path to citizenship to the Dreamers.

House Minority Leader Pelosi: 202-225-4965

Senate Minority Leader Schumer: 202-224-6542

Moderate Republican Latinos:

Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fl) 202-225-4211

Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fl) 202-225-3931

Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-Fl) 202-225-2778

Swing Congress

Haverhill Democratic Action Sub-Committee (Swing Congress) is forming to organize people in Greater Haverhill to take action to swing US Congress, House and Senate, to the Democrats. This is the only way to stop Trump and the Republicans.

Initially, we are planning to join other cities and town groups to have Post Carding nights to write cards to selected national congressional candidates. We will also begin to organize Hub Dialing parties for candidates.

Below is a selection of groups who are posting candidates to take action on now (there are many primaries being held now. Each group has its own means of Hub Dialing and instructions on how to use. You can access now on your own or wait for our lead -.

Swing Congress hopes to organize people around these actions.

THE PROBLEMS OF CHOICE: There are numerous candidates to choose from now from various action organizations. Swing Congress hopes to help in the selection of candidates in the coming weeks for post carding and Hub Dialing, and organize events around these actions.

Action: Please notify me by email if you are interested in these actions ([email protected]) and let me know what nights or weekend days you might be available.

Graham Schwass, Hav Dem Action Committee

3 Groups Below Organizing to Recapture Congress.

Here’s a rundown on three GOP-held battleground states:

• Nevada: Jacky Rosen (D) is leading Dean Heller (R) by just ONE-POINT in the polls and now Mike Pence (and Donald Trump) are swooping in to bail out Heller.

• Texas: Beto O’Rourke (D) just unveiled record-breaking fundraising that’s made Ted Cruz NERVOUS. And he should be — Beto’s already polling within single-digits of Cruz!

If we can flip just two of these seats, we can flip the Senate, Graham. But Republicans are doing everything in their power to hold onto these seats…and we’re going to need an outpouring of grassroots support to get the job done.

SWING LEFT

No matter where you live, the Swing Left phonebank program allows you to reach out personally to swing district voters all over the country. These calls are the essential one-on-one conversations we know are vital to getting Democrats to the polls next November. Phonebanks harness the power of volunteers living outside swing districts to energize voters in key races throughout the country.

From your own living room, you can reach hard-to-visit districts and rural voters – people we may otherwise miss. If you live in a swing district, phonebanking helps you easily find and connect with your neighbors. Taken together, we’ll make thousands of calls, each one a crucial step in winning the 23 seats we need to flip the House

Here are the 2 NH swing districts identified by Swing Left nearest Haverhill.

New Hampshire’s 2nd District (NH-02)

In the last election, Annie Kuster won this district by only 15,546 votes (4.4%).

Let’s support Annie Kuster in 2018 and make sure Democrats hold onto this critical seat. Sign up to receive alerts as we add opportunities.

Justice Democrats

RAISE UP MASSACHUSETTS

All year, we’ve been pushing for the passage of Paid Family and Medical Leave and a $15 Minimum Wage: both on the ballot and in the legislature. We collected over 174,000 signatures to put both questions on the 2018 ballot, have made over 125,000 phone calls to legislative districts across the state, and turned out over 1,500 residents to community briefings across Massachusetts.

We will be joined by community, faith, and labor leaders from across the State, as well as activists like you who support a higher minimum wage and paid leave. We want to make sure that folks from across the Commonwealth can join us on this historic day – that’s why we are running buses from all parts of Massachusetts to bring the people to the halls of the State House. Sign up for our bus program here!

You can RSVP and learn more about the event here. If you are unable to make it to the event but still want to help us pass these policies, sign up to join our phone program or consider donating to help us move our campaigns forward.

In Gratitude, Raise Up Massachusetts

Environment Massachusetts

Action: Signature Requested

In the next few weeks, we have a critical opportunity to urge a major meat company to stop polluting our water.

You might not have heard of them, but Pilgrim’s Pride is the second-largest chicken producer in the world.

Another thing they produce? Manure — tons and tons of it. And all too often, the manure from factory farms raising chickens for companies like Pilgrim’s Pride finds its way into our rivers, streams and lakes.

We need to move toward renewable energy and away from the fossil fuels that pollute our environment while contributing to climate change.

I urge you to vote FOR the omnibus energy bill (S.2302) that would ban the pipeline tax, stop new pipeline construction, speed up emissions reductions and move away from our reliance on fracked gas and other fossil fuels.

The bill would move us toward the future – more solar, more wind and increased energy efficiency.

I urge you to vote YES for the Omnibus Energy bill, “An Act to Promote a Clean Energy Future” (S.2302).

Please contact your state Representative today and ask them to vote yes on Automatic Voter Registration. The Joint Committee on Election Laws gave the legislation a favorable report. There are nearly 700,000 Massachusetts residents who are eligible to vote but not currently registered. AVR could give them a voice in our democracy and enhance the accuracy and security of our elections. AVR is a priority and should be adopted now.

Call Senator Elizabeth Warren at 617-565-3170 and Senator Ed Markey at 202-224-2742 and say, “Vote no on Mike Pompeo and Gina Haspel for cabinet positions.” Pompeo is anti-Muslim, pro-torture, and anti-Iran deal. Haspel oversaw torture programs, A simple majority can prevent them from being confirmed. Senators need to use this opportunity as a first step to stop Trump’s march to war. Spread the word to your friends in red states.

Final Criminal Justice Package Released – Will Brownsberger

After four months of negotiations, the conference committee between the House and Senate reached final agreement on a criminal justice reform package. Below is my statement at our press conference and further below is an outline of the bill.

Put in Browser for info: https://willbrownsberger.com/final-criminal-justice-package-released/

Action: Contact the Governor

Friends of the Earth

Tell your Representative: Protect our oceans from Trump and Big Oil!

Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke are trying to hand over our oceans to Big Oil. This would put our marine life and coastal communities at risk.

Momentum is building to stop Trump and Zinke’s plan. More than 60,000 Friends of the Earth members like you sent comments opposing it. Now, some Members of Congress are trying to hold Zinke accountable for this giveaway to Big Oil. They need your support!

Tell your Member of Congress to protect our oceans and coastal communities from offhore drilling!

Democracy for America

Support candidates

(These are primarily asking for donations – $3-up. I would not usually put in items simply asking for donations, but this is a good way to show initial support – Graham)

Primaries matter: These California progressives need you now

Victories across California in 2018 are going to be absolutely critical to Democrats’ chances of taking back the House and gaining the political power necessary to confront and defeat Donald Trump’s bigoted and oligarchic agenda.

Donate now to help send progressives Bryan Caforio, Katie Porter, Sam Jammal, and Mike Levin to Congress — and to support Democracy for America’s work to help them win.

Also: The Democracy for America web site list many current issues that have signature requests – easy to sign.

Imagine being able to power your life without harming the environment. Imagine our country producing and consuming energy while we enjoy healthy, livable communities. We have the power to give kids growing up today a livable future. That’s why we’re calling for a nationwide commitment to 100% renewable energy.

100% Clean. 100% Possible.

Burning oil, gas and coal has not only polluted our air, water and land for decades. Now it’s changing our climate even faster than scientists feared it would. We can have healthier communities right now and a livable future for kids growing up today. But to get there, we need to transform the way we produce and consume energy.

“I believe strongly that Members of Congress must be loyal to their constituents and thhttp://www.haverhilldems.org/eir consciences. But I also believe there is a difference between the two political parties and their basic principles regarding economic fairness, women’s rights, equal rights and the role of government. That’s why I’ve always been a Democrat.” – Marie Newman

If you Have Five Minutes. . . . .

Scott Gerber shares these six important ways every citizen can help defeat the gun lobby and the NRA (shared via Facebook by George Lakoff):

Call or write your congressional representatives and tell them enough is enough. Support the ban on bump stocks, approve a permanent assault weapons ban, and make sure that every purchase of a gun goes through a background check, every time. Tell them to take the handcuffs off the ATF and CDC; those agencies should be allowed to do research on effective ways to stop gun violence.

Support the #BoycottNRA movement. Pressure big corporations to stop being in bed with the NRA. Already some companies — like United, Best Western and Dick’s Sporting Goods — have acted.

Support advocates for commonsense gun safety measures like Everytown for Gun Safety and the Brady Campaign. These organizations and many more are on the front lines, and they are hugely outspent by the NRA.

Don’t support candidates — financially or otherwise — unless they support ending gun violence. One big Republican donor, Al Hoffman Jr., has done this. We should all do the same.

Remember Alabama? Remember how good it felt to turn that Senate seat blue — and send ultraconservative Roy Moore packing?

We have a chance to do that in Pennsylvania.

There’s a special election happening in less than two weeks for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District. Republican Rick Saccone — who’s bragged that “he was Trump before Trump was Trump” and has pushed Trump-like policies in Harrisburg for years now — is running neck-and-neck against Democrat Conor Lamb, a Marine Corps veteran who believes in affordable healthcare and repairing our nation’s infrastructure.

This is a heavily Republican district (thanks, gerrymandering!)… but new polls have Lamb trailing Saccone by just three points. As we get closer to E-Day, momentum is building.

Here’s how we’ll flip PA-18: We’ve identified a group of voters in PA-18 who are likely to sit this election out — people who don’t often vote outside of presidential election years. In a race that could come down to a few hundred votes, these are the people we need to move to secure a victory for Conor Lamb.

In Alabama and Virginia, we found that text-banking voters is a great complement to door-to-door canvassing. It’s super simple — volunteers download an app on their desktop or device and text voters in the district from the app. It doesn’t cost a dime on the volunteer’s phone plan and one can do all this from home, in their pajamas.

We need 1,500 Indivisibles to send texts to these voters about what’s at stake in this special election and convince them to go out and vote on March 13. Will you volunteer to help out? Here are the details:

• Who: You and other Indivisibles!

• What: Text-banking to get out the vote for Conor Lamb

• When: This weekend (March 3 and 4) and the final days of GOTV (March 10-13), in 2-hour shifts between 12pm-4pm each day

• Where: On your personal computer or device

• RSVP to sign up now! When you sign up, you’ll receive instructions on how to create your account and an invite to a short webinar to walk you through how to text your way to electoral victory.

We won in Alabama and Virginia because we kept fighting. We refused to accept that some seats are “too red,” “too unwinnable,” to fight for. And you know what? We were right. Now it’s time to bring home a victory for the Keystone State — in yet another race pundits wrote off as “unwinnable” and “a long shot” just a few weeks ago.

This site offers a way to dial people in that constituency to ask their support for a candidate. It has specific instructions on how to use the dialer and scripts. It is focusing on Texas, but has many other sites to participate in. This is an easy way to learn a system of dialing constituents

Factory farms are some of the worst actors when it comes to polluting our air. The waste from hundreds or thousands of confined animals emits dangerous levels of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. These chemicals can cause asthma, scar the respiratory track, and even cause death.

The DC Circuit Court acknowledged that the health threat posed by factory farms is real and people have died as a result of Big Ag’s pollution. Shouldn’t people who live near factory farms have a right to know if their life is in danger? And shouldn’t they be able to hold Big Ag accountable for the disastrous impacts on their air quality?

This Senate bill is so extreme that it would allow a factory farm that emits even more hydrogen sulfide than a power plant to not report it. This is unacceptable.

Hazardous waste sites like power plants, polluting factories, and toxic landfills currently have to report the dangerous substances they are putting into the air. This information is critical for the health of residents who live nearby. And it helps hold the polluters accountable for cleaning up their own mess.

If Congress starts exempting one industry at a time from this law, pesticide giants like Monsanto and DuPont will be asking for special treatment next.

Big Ag is pushing hard to get this exception so they can earn unchecked profits while they destroy the planet and our health. We can’t let them get away with it.

The Koch brothers’ network will spend $400 MILLION this cycle to affect elections everywhere and advance Donald Trump’s reckless agenda – putting the interests of billionaires miles ahead of everyday Americans. It’s flat-out wrong and goes against EVERYTHING our democracy stands for, so now more than ever, we’ve got to speak out against this.

Democrats continue to fight for a constitutional amendment to overturn the disastrous Citizens United decision that lets unknown sums of money pour into our elections – but the ONLY way we’ll win is if grassroots Democrats like you speak out right now. We need 870 more signers from MA. Can we count on you?

The time to act is now: Support the Safe Communities Act!

From the Boston Tea Party to the anti-slavery and marriage equality movements, Massachusetts has been a leader on civil rights. We need to show that same courage again today.

One in six Massachusetts residents is an immigrant. Yet under the Trump administration, our immigrant friends, neighbors and coworkers are being demonized and targeted for mass deportation. The federal government wants state and local law enforcement to serve as “force multipliers” for its crackdown on immigrants. The Safe Communities Act would stop that from happening in our state.

The Safe Communities Act protects the civil rights, safety and well-being of all residents by drawing a clear line between immigration enforcement and public safety. Sponsored by State Sen. Jamie Eldridge (S.1305) and State Rep. Juana Matías (H.3269), it ensures that our tax dollars are not used to help the Trump administration deport immigrant families or create a Muslim registry.

Nearly half the Massachusetts Legislature has co-sponsored the bill, and more than 100 organizations have endorsed it so far. On June 9, 2017, hundreds of people came to show their support at a hearing by the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security, with testimony from elected officials, to civil rights leaders, health care providers, educators and community members.

Leave a comment on the regulations.gov website about Trump’s plan to expand offshore drilling. Sample script: I strongly oppose the expansion of offshore drilling. The most recent data indicate that the United States should end offshore drilling in all areas and instead invest in renewable energies like solar and wind. In addition, oil spills have the potential of destroying wildlife as well as the economies of coastal communities. More than 150 cities and towns on both coasts have expressed opposition to offshore drilling. For these reasons I urge you to remove offshore areas from the list of potential drilling areas.

Call your representatives to protest the Trump Administration’s plan to let the boss pocket the worker’s tips. According to the New York Times, “critics have denounced this plan as legalizing wage theft.“

IMMIGRATION

Action Item from Immigration Task Force (Repeat from 1/28/2018)

Now Is The Time!

Action Item for DACA

Now is the time to raise our voices and urge the Senate to make a path to citizenship happen for DACA recipients. Please call one or both of these leaders in the Senate this week and tell them how important this one issue is to you.

My name is __________. I am a resident of Haverhill, Ma. My zipcode is ________.

Senator Warren: Please use your strong leadership skills to bring about a bipartisan resolution that gives DACA recipients a path to citizenship by February 8th. I am confident that the majority of Massachusetts citizens want this to happen now not later. Thank you for being our dedicated advocate in the Senate.

My name is __________. I am a resident of Haverhill, Ma. My zipcode is ________. .

Senator Graham: I am a Democrat from Massachusetts and truly appreciate your dedicated and thoughtful leadership in the Senate – especially in regard to seeking a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. Your work in bringing together fellow Senators this past week to find a bipartisan solution gives many of us concrete hope that a resolution is possible, even by February 8th. I am confident that the majority of United States citizens want this to happen now not later. Thank you for the work you are doing.

Indivisible

Immigrant Ally Toolkit: How You Can Be an Immigrant Ally Locally

Supporting actions on the local level, in addition to continuing to push your Members of Congress to pass a clean Dream Act and reject Trump’s immigration priorities, is a critical way to help protect immigrant families.

The Environment

Friends of the Earth

Bees are dying — with potentially devastating impacts on our food system. And bee-killing neonic pesticides are largely to blame.

The Environmental Protection Agency has the power to eliminate these pesticides. Now, it’s accepting public input on its assessment of four bee-killing neonicotinoids. We need you to tell the EPA to take action on these pesticides NOW!

Mass Power Forward and Carbon Pricing Bills

The Action Network/Massachusetts

Climate change and the continued use of fossil fuels puts the lives and well-being of our citizens in danger. Failure to take urgent action diminishes our leadership, leaving communities and jobs at risk. We ask that our legislators act now to pass effective climate legislation, specifically the Mass Power Forward 5-point agenda

Jobs

Fight for $15

Thousands of workers to carry on fight for higher pay, union rights

MEMPHIS—Thousands of fast-food cooks and cashiers announced Thursday they will walk off their jobs and protest nationwide Feb. 12 – the 50th anniversary of the historic Memphis sanitation strike – carrying on the fight for higher wages and union rights led by hundreds of black municipal workers whose 1968 walkout became a rallying cry of the Poor People’s Campaign led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Workers in the Fight for $15 declared they will participate in six weeks of direct action and nonviolent civil disobedience beginning Mother’s Day as part of the new Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, uniting two of the nation’s most powerful social movements in a common fight for strong unions to lift people of all races out of poverty.

Sign Up with Fight for $15 to get future action announcements.

Use browser:https://fightfor15.org/thousands-workers-carry-fight-higher-pay-union-rights/

Action Item from Immigration Task Force

Action Item for DACA

Now is the time to raise our voices and urge the Senate to make a path to citizenship happen for DACA recipients. Please call one or both of these leaders in the Senate this week and tell them how important this one issue is to you.

My name is __________. I am a resident of Haverhill, Ma. My zipcode is ________.

Senator Warren: Please use your strong leadership skills to bring about a bipartisan resolution that gives DACA recipients a path to citizenship by February 8th. I am confident that the majority of Massachusetts citizens want this to happen now not later. Thank you for being our dedicated advocate in the Senate.

My name is __________. I am a resident of Haverhill, Ma. My zipcode is ________. .

Senator Graham: I am a Democrat from Massachusetts and truly appreciate your dedicated and thoughtful leadership in the Senate – especially in regard to seeking a path to citizenship for DACA recipients. Your work in bringing together fellow Senators this past week to find a bipartisan solution gives many of us concrete hope that a resolution is possible, even by February 8th. I am confident that the majority of United States citizens want this to happen now not later. Thank you for the work you are doing.

Safe Communities Act – Statewide Call-in Day

In the past year, we’ve seen the Trump administration go after immigrants with shocking aggression: from the travel ban, to stepped-up arrests and detentions, to threatening Dreamers.

Often we feel helpless. But right now, we have a chance to make a real difference.

The Safe Communities Act, which is before the Massachusetts Legislature, would keep our state and local law enforcement from being used to help round up and deport immigrants. While in some states, police now ask people for their papers if they “look illegal,” and hold them for ICE agents, we can make sure our police focus on fighting crime so that everyone feels safe calling 911, regardless of their status.

If we want the SCA passed this year, it needs to be reported favorably out of the Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security as soon as possible. So NEXT WEDNESDAY, January 31, we plan to flood legislators with calls urging them to advocate for the SCA with their leadership.

Will you join our Statewide Call-In Day, and invite 5 more friends to do it?

MA Clean Energy Call in Day January 31

Please take a moment today to call your legislators today! The MA Power Forward coalition is calling on activists to advocate for our priority legislation. There are 200 climate action organizations that are part of this coalition, including UU Mass Action. The prioritized bills have been selected because they reflect the coalition’s values and they have a good chance of passing with our continued support. See below for the MA Power Forward 5-Point Agenda

The GEF brings together the world’s governments, non-profits, and the private sector to address the biggest environmental challenges facing our planet. This organization works with both supply and demand countries to strengthen national legislation, enhance wildlife law enforcement, and reduce poaching and smuggling.

The GEF also partners with the U.S. Forest Service to combat illegal logging in the Amazon and Congo Basins, saving habitat for jaguars, monkeys, and turtles, and shutting down key sources of the illegal timber that floods global markets.

It’s safe to say the GEF is vital for the survival of some of our planet’s most beloved species.

The Administration and the House of Representatives propose slashing funding to the GEF. The U.S. Senate has recommended restoring most of the cuts. The U.S. is so close to honoring its full commitment. We need you to write Congress to tell them fully funding the GEF is important for wildlife.

tigers, elephants, rhinos, and countless other species need your help right now. These animals are vulnerable to extinction, and cannot afford to have one of their most vital sources of protection weakened or removed.

Military budget action

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed into law a sweeping defense policy bill that authorizes a $700 billion budget for the military, including additional spending on missile defense programs to counter North Korea’s growing nuclear weapons threat.

But there’s a catch. The $700 billion budget won’t become reality until lawmakers agree to roll back a 2011 law that set strict limits on federal spending, including by the Defense Department — and they haven’t yet.

Massachusetts’ U.S. Democratic senators, Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey, on Monday cast votes supporting a $700 billion defense policy bill, but representatives from Warren’s office say she “plans to advocate for defense cuts” and an increase in non-defense spending when the time to appropriate funds comes later in the year.

“We cannot support a buildup in military spending that leaves our country weakened and unable to build a strong economy going forward,” Warren said on the Senate floor Sept. 12.

Elizabeth Warren Votes for Massive Increase of War Budget

Elizabeth Warren votes for a defense budget that is higher than the one that Donald Trump requested.

More Info: http://www.leftvoice.org/Elizabeth-Warren-Votes-for-Massive-Increase-of-War-Budget

On September 18, Elizabeth Warren, the much beloved poster child of the “progressive” wing of the Democratic Party, voted for a bill that authorizes $700 billion in defense funds. This includes $640 billion for the Pentagon and an additional $60 billion for military operations in countries such as Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan. This bill increased military spending by $80 billion, which far surpasses the increase requested by America First President Trump ($54 billion). There were 8 no votes (against 89 yes votes) and three abstentions, but Warren was not one of them.

ACTION ON MILITARY BUDGET: Call Massachusetts US Senators and Representatives: to cut the US Military Budget, NOT raise it. The US has a military budget larger the next 11 countries combined.

This will be an ongoing Action for the next 6 months, during the budget process.

Thousands of toxic or potentially toxic chemicals are in our food, garden and agricultural products, furniture, clothes, and many other products that we use daily. Europe tests and bans many of these products, but the US does little.

Take the simple action of signing up with Raise Up, to follow and support their actions in the coming year. Bills in the State Legislature for $15 wage and Family Leave are beginning the legislative process that will come to a head in June/18.

Action: Make plans for the coming weeks to call the President, Senators and Representatives. There may be a Hub Dialing campaign to call people in other states to ask them to call their Senators and Representatives

If You Have 30 Minutes. . .

ACTION: We are going to use Hub Dialer to call voters in states with swing Republican senators, so voters can call their senators on the Bill.

It’s the End of the World

Not Really but Close

Trump and the Republicans will destroy the economy and Obama Care with the new Tax plan.

People can use Hubdialer at home. Hub Dialing is used to call voters in the states of Swing Republican Senators. We need to turn 3 Republican senators, such as Collins, Murkowski, Corker, Portman. The Hub Dialer has already targeted states.

The Hub dialer is easy to use; it selects a voter to call. You identify yourself and ask the voter to call their senator and ask them to vote against the Tax Bill.

Talking Points: The inclusion of the Repeal of the Obama Care Mandate on Health insurance will destroy health insurance for 13 million. The Tax Plan will primarily help the rich and well off and hurt the middle class.

To get to the Hub Dialer, register at the following link. Once you register the rest is easy. Check it out.

If You Have an Evening. . . .

Have a Hubdialer house party. Invite a few friends over to make calls together. Friends should bring laptops or tablets, cell phones, and chargers.

For More Information

From the National Review (believe it or not, also very amusing)

The GOP’s Tax Plan: Paving the Way to a Democratic Majority

Like the Titanic steaming towards that iceberg, the GOP’s tax plan is reported to be moving forward at some speed. No, no, what am I saying? For all his faults, the Titanic’s captain did not actually design the iceberg that sank his ship. The Republican leadership, on the other hand…. Even if we forget about their impact on the deficit (and we shouldn’t), the Republican tax plans have been characterized by extraordinarily sloppy thinking, so sloppy indeed that it’s impossible not to wonder what, if anything, was going through the heads of the GOP leadership.

Election 2018

Sister City Project: You Just Made History.

11/8/17

Tonight, we’ve already won 13 of our 14 Sister Races, and one is headed for a recount on a razor thin margin of 12 votes. We flipped the Senate in Washington to turn it into a Democratic trifecta state, and we are within striking distance of flipping the Virginia House of Delegates. Democrats also swept statewide races tonight: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General in Virginia and Governor in New Jersey. This is a big, beautiful, blue tidal wave—and we are going to ride it straight into 2018.

You proved that the Sister District model works. All told, we raised over $350,000 in small-dollar cash donations, another $350,000 in partnership with allied organizations, hit 100k dials and doors, wrote 30,000 postcards, and sent 185,000 text messages.

ACTION: But there’s no time to rest, and we’re already at work for 2018. We’ve got our eye on chambers to flip or hold—many states are within just 1 to 4 seats. We are so grateful for your support so far, can you help us kickstart 2018?

Economy – Tax Reform

The only things one can be sure of regarding whatever it is that the Republican congressional majorities come up with for a tax plan is that it will shove more of the nation’s wealth upwards, that the math will be mostly magical thinking, and that there will be various strategies employed to keep the country from noticing these first two characteristics. From Politico, we learn that, yes, the Republicans are pretty much a mess on this front, too…………

With Sam Clovis suddenly cleared out, there was room for the House Republicans to uncrate their long-awaited tax plan and it was pretty much as disastrous as you thought it would be.

One good way to understand what’s going on with this latest exercise in financial misdirection is to notice that this plan will tax the interest payment on one student’s loans, but that it may no longer tax another student’s multibillion-dollar inheritance. Of course, the estate tax will go away entirely in six years, probably when nobody’s watching. It also will cap the mortgage-interest deduction, probably in the interest of eliminating it entirely when nobody’s watching. So that’s what all that “middle-class” bafflegab is really all about…………

……Brownback’s catastrophic imbibing of straight supply-side Sterno crippled his state, and the Center for American Progress immediately pointed out the similarities between what Brownback did in his state and what the Republican plan proposes to do to the country. Otherwise, the Republican plan is pretty much the same thing as David Stockman long ago said the first Reagan budget was: a Trojan horse to cut taxes on corporations and the wealthiest among us…………….

The Trump administration’s tumultuous first months have brought a flurry of changes—both realized and anticipated—to U.S. environmental policy. Many of the actions roll back Obama-era policies that aimed to curb climate change and limit environmental pollution, while others threaten to limit federal funding for science and the environment.

The stakes are enormous. The Trump administration takes power amid the first days of meaningful international action against climate change, an issue on which political polarization still runs deep. And for the first time in years, Republicans have control of the White House and both houses of Congress—giving them an opportunity to remake the nation’s environmental laws in their image.

It’s a lot to keep track of, so National Geographic will be maintaining an abbreviated timeline of the Trump administration’s environmental actions and policy changes, as well as reactions to them. We will update this article periodically as news develops…………..

ACTION: Call your Massachusetts National and State Representatives to ask them what they are doing about the environment whether it be Climate Change, Endangered Species or a topic of your choice.

Friends of the Earth

Great news! This week the Massachusetts State Senate advanced a bill banning consumer use of bee-killing pesticides. This means we’re one step closer to passing this important bill to save our bees!

Bees and other pollinators are declining at alarming rates. In October, a new study came out showing insect populations have declined by nearly 80 percent in the last three decades. This shows how much our ecosystems are struggling.

Massachusetts legislators approved a bill calling for sweeping changes to the state’s criminal justice system early Friday.

The Democratic-controlled Senate voted 27-10 in favor of the measure around 1:30 a.m. Friday morning, after many hours of debate over the amendments proposed in the legislation.

Such reforms include the repeal of mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses, a stricter set of guidelines for judges regarding the bail system, raising the age at which someone can be charged in adult court, and allowing for the compassionate release of elderly or weak inmates.

The bill also proposes allowing low-income defendants to pay lower court fees and fines, to eliminate what Senate President Stan Rosenberg’s office calls a “modern day ‘debtor’s prison.'” Statutory rape law would also change under the legislation, which would legalize sex between teenagers on the basis of age difference rather than the ages themselves.

“It’s time Massachusetts joins the national let’s get smart on crime movement,” Rosenberg (D-Amherst) said in a statement. “This bill protects public safety and makes commonsense reforms while improving outcomes with our precious tax dollars.”

Health Care

President Trump has said that, politically, the best thing to do would be to let the Affordable Care Act (ACA) “explode.” This timeline tracks Administration actions that would sabotage the ACA by destabilizing private insurance markets or reversing the law’s historic gains in health coverage.

November 1

The Trump Administration reduces email outreach for the marketplace open enrollment period. Although the HealthCare.gov database has email addresses for about 20 million consumers — those currently or previously enrolled or who have expressed interest in HealthCare.gov coverage — the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will only reach out to current enrollees.

When announcing its plan to slash its outreach budget by 90 percent, the Administration said that it would focus its open enrollment advertising and outreach activities on email, digital media, and text messaging. Yet HHS isn’t emailing millions of people who need information about open enrollment and coverage.

We made history electing Andy to the City Council at the age of 22. Let’s make sure we keep up the pace in 2017 and help Andy get to the State House so he can keep fighting for us in a greater capacity. It’s going to be a tight race, so we hope you canget involved!

Andy on Facebook: “Shaun Toohey is a good man. It’s unfortunate that his campaign stoops this low in a desperate and false mailer with 10 days to go. This isn’t the Haverhill I love.We suspect more of these mailers to hit. Please help us combat ignorance and negative campaigning by donating and volunteering!”

Voter Registration

League of Women Voters

Mass State Voter Registration

Automatic Voter Registration Twitterstorm Oct. 30!

If you’re on Twitter, we need your help! On Monday, Oct. 30, LWVMA and our partners in the election modernization coalition are creating a “Twitterstorm”-a flurry of tweets, all on the same day-to help pass automatic voter registration this legislative session. On that day, please tweet this message using the hashtag #AVRinMA:

“Why #AVRinMA? We want elections to be more inclusive, accurate & secure. AVR is the solution. @SpeakerDeLeo @SenStan #mapoli”

Passing automatic voter registration (AVR) this legislative session is a priority for LWVMA. Please contact your state Representative today. (i.e., we have Diana DiZoglio and Linda Dean Campbell ) The House leadership needs to know right now that AVR has widespread support and interest so the bill comes out of committee and to the floor for a vote. Ask your Representative to let the leadership know AVR (S.373/H.2091) is important and deserves a vote in the House. Learn more about this major voting improvement on Greater Haverhill League of Women Voters website here.

Why Virginia and why state elections? Because state policies matter, for constituents and for all of us. As the federal administration continues its crusade against humaneness and common sense, state legislatures are becoming more important as bulwarks against injustice. ALL 100 SEATS in Virginia’s House of Delegates are up for election on November 7th and we have two compelling candidates to support: Jennifer Carroll Foy (VA-02) and John Bell (VA-87). Republicans currently hold 66 of these seats. FORTY-NINE PERCENT of VA voters would prefer Democratic control of the state legislature. Let’s help them get there.

What a week! The Senate bill S.2170 was released on 9/28 and is 114 pages! After many conversations with Senate leaders and coalition allies, UU Mass Action’s End Mass Incarceration Team has made the decision to support the bill. We recognize that there is room for improvement, especially with Solitary Confinement Reform, and will continue to work with our partners in the MA Against Solitary Confinement Coalition to address these concerns.

Our ask: The Senate plans to vote on on S.2170 on Oct 19th. Now is the time to call and send an email to your senator and ask for their support. To help you with this, we have drafted a template to help you get started. If

Economic

TAX REFORM was supposed to attract wide, bipartisan support. Lower rates would be fully offset by cutting unneeded deductions and loopholes. The benefit would be a simpler, more efficient tax code. But the idea has moved steadily toward just another irresponsible GOP tax cut, paid for with magical thinking, that would erode the nation’s fiscal health and burden future generations. Republicans who know better must resist this path.

Call the White House. 202-456-1111. 1To send an email to the White House in general, in the “To” line enter the following: [email protected] 2To send an email to the President, in the “To” line enter [email protected]

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

Massachusetts is on its way to passing a bill to protect bees from bee-killing pesticides.
This summer Senator Eldridge introduced a bill in the state Senate to remove neonicotinoid pesticides from consumer use. This bill would be a big step forward in the fight to save bees, which pollinate one in every three bites of food that we eat.
We need your help to build support for this bill!

Support has been building to make Haverhill a Green Community, but the Mayor needs to hear from the citizens.

Call Mayor Fiorentini to support Haverhill in becoming a Green Community.

978-374-2300

Support Mass Power Forward’s Legislative Agenda

Mass Power Forward and 350 Mass for a Better Future has created a tool to send a letter to your representative and senator (UU Mass Action is a member of Mass Power Forward). If you can come to the Solar Hearing (details below), please RSVP here: RSVP to go to the hearing. I not, please send a letter to your legislators. Click here for an easy way to do that.

Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts Action Item

Campaign FinanceTake Action: PDM, through the action of its Campaign Finance Working Group, has endorsed the Massachusetts We the People Act calling for a US Constitutional Amendment overturning Citizens United (H.1926 and S.379). If you would like more information about the bill or this issue, please visit the website of We the People Massachusetts, which is leading the fight for this bill, at http://www.wethepeoplemass.org/. PDM will communicate our endorsement to legislators and our allies. We encourage you to share this endorsement with your state representative and senator, as well as others. We will monitor the progress of the bill and let you know when there are specific opportunities for action. Contact: John Lippitt [email protected]

Support Doug Jones in Alabama Senate Race

Dem just 6 points behind in Alabama Senate race: poll

Alabama Republican Roy Moore leads Democrat Doug Jones by less than 6 points in a new Senate special election poll that’s likely to raise questions about whether the deep-red state is in play.

International

Call the White House, and Secy Tillerson to urge an end to Trumps insulting and threatening North Korea and Kim Jong Un, and to begin negotiations.

Call the White House. 202-456-1111. 1To send an email to the White House in general, in the “To” line enter the following: [email protected] 2To send an email to the President, in the “To” line enter [email protected]

What a week! The Senate bill S.2170 was released on 9/28 and is 114 pages! After many conversations with Senate leaders and coalition allies, UU Mass Action’s End Mass Incarceration Team has made the decision to support the bill. We recognize that there is room for improvement, especially with Solitary Confinement Reform, and will continue to work with our partners in the MA Against Solitary Confinement Coalition to address these concerns.

Our ask: The Senate plans to vote on on S.2170 on Oct 19th. Now is the time to call and send an email to your senator and ask for their support. To help you with this, we have drafted a template to help you get started.

Economic

TAX REFORM was supposed to attract wide, bipartisan support. Lower rates would be fully offset by cutting unneeded deductions and loopholes. The benefit would be a simpler, more efficient tax code. But the idea has moved steadily toward just another irresponsible GOP tax cut, paid for with magical thinking, that would erode the nation’s fiscal health and burden future generations. Republicans who know better must resist this path.

Call the White House. 202-456-1111. 1To send an email to the White House in general, in the “To” line enter the following: [email protected] 2To send an email to the President, in the “To” line enter [email protected]

FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

Massachusetts is on its way to passing a bill to protect bees from bee-killing pesticides.
This summer Senator Eldridge introduced a bill in the state Senate to remove neonicotinoid pesticides from consumer use. This bill would be a big step forward in the fight to save bees, which pollinate one in every three bites of food that we eat.
We need your help to build support for this bill!

Support has been building to make Haverhill a Green Community, but the Mayor needs to hear from the citizens.

Call Mayor Fiorentini to support Haverhill in becoming a Green Community.

978-374-2300

Support Mass Power Forward’s Legislative Agenda

Mass Power Forward and 350 Mass for a Better Future has created a tool to send a letter to your representative and senator (UU Mass Action is a member of Mass Power Forward). If you can come to the Solar Hearing (details below), please RSVP here: RSVP to go to the hearing. I not, please send a letter to your legislators. Click here for an easy way to do that.

Progressive Democrats of Massachusetts Action Item

Campaign FinanceTake Action: PDM, through the action of its Campaign Finance Working Group, has endorsed the Massachusetts We the People Act calling for a US Constitutional Amendment overturning Citizens United (H.1926 and S.379). If you would like more information about the bill or this issue, please visit the website of We the People Massachusetts, which is leading the fight for this bill, at http://www.wethepeoplemass.org/. PDM will communicate our endorsement to legislators and our allies. We encourage you to share this endorsement with your state representative and senator, as well as others. We will monitor the progress of the bill and let you know when there are specific opportunities for action. Contact: John Lippitt [email protected]

Support Doug Jones in Alabama Senate Race

Dem just 6 points behind in Alabama Senate race: poll

Alabama Republican Roy Moore leads Democrat Doug Jones by less than 6 points in a new Senate special election poll that’s likely to raise questions about whether the deep-red state is in play.

International

Call the White House, and Secy Tillerson to urge an end to Trumps insulting and threatening North Korea and Kim Jong Un, and to begin negotiations.

Call the White House. 202-456-1111. 1To send an email to the White House in general, in the “To” line enter the following: [email protected] 2To send an email to the President, in the “To” line enter [email protected]

Healthcare

[bctt tweet=”Stop Trumpcare now for once and for all! #KillTheBill” via=”no”]

Immigration

DACA

Lawrence Community Works and other organizations are sponsoring a DACA application renewal on Saturday, 9/30/17, for DACA recipients whose status will expire on March 5, 2018 (at 61 Warren St, Lawrence, MA), 10am to 6pm. THESE DACA RECIPIENTS MUST APPLY BEFORE 10/5/17. Lawyers will be available to assist.

These applications have a fee (Homeland Security Office) of $495. Donations are requested to help with these fees.

Environment

DEFEND DACA

We are deeply concerned that President Trump could terminate the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program this week. This move would turn our nation’s back on immigrant youth who are valued members of our communities. Terminating DACA would place the nearly 800,000 DREAMers whom the program allows to work and live legally in the United States at immediate risk of deportation.

CALL CONGRESS AND THE WHITE HOUSE

Representatives: 1-888-496-3502

Senators: 1-888-410-0619

*Please call your 1 Representative and then your 2 Senators

Sample Script to Representative/Senators: “Hi, my name is X and I’m calling from City, State and my zip code is X. I am a person of faith. I’m deeply concerned about the reports that President Trump could end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) this week. I support the program and strongly oppose any attempt to terminate or alter it. I urge the Senator/Representative to do everything in his/her power to protect 800,000 DACA-recipients from deportation and support their right to work and study in this country. There are three things I’m hoping your office will do right now. Can the Senator/Representative (1) appeal directly to the President to keep this program in place, (2) issue a public statement of support for DACA recipients, and (3) support a clean passage of S.1615/H.R.3440, the Dream Act of 2017?”

CALL PRESIDENT TRUMP: (202) 456-1111 (please leave a message)

Sample Script for President Trump: “I’m from [City, State]. I am a person of faith and I support the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, and strongly oppose any attempt to terminate it or phase it out. DACA has provided nearly 800,000 young people the opportunity to pursue their dreams. I urge you to defend the DACA program well beyond September 5, protect DACA recipients from deportation and detention, and work with Congress toward a permanent solution.”

Both President Trump and Members of Congress must hear that communities of faith demand DACA remain in place until the Dream Act passes, and that there be be no gap between DACA ending and Dream passing! Also, DACA recipients should not be used a political bargaining chip to increase a deportation force and tear apart families and communities.

To: Governor Charlie Baker

Defend DACA Now in Massachusetts!

Publicly defend the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) from recent attacks with a statement about how it benefits your state.

Conservative Republican Paul Ryan publicly came out to defend DACA for young undocumented immigrants. Will Governor Baker do the same?

Call 617.725.4005 AND 617.725.4000 and say:

“My name is _____________, I’m a resident of Massachusetts and I am asking that governor Charlie Baker publicly state his support for the DACA program and ask President Trump to keep it. Speaker of the House Paul Ryan just came out publicly in support of DACA today. What side is Governor Baker on? Will Governor Baker do the same?”

MERRIMAC VALLEY PROJECT

MVP will be pushing for Senator Ives to support the Safe communities Act. Unfortunately, this has been construed as a Sanctuary Act, and due to the threat of losing funding, Governor Baker sees this Act as endangering Massachusetts in as far as retaining monies needed, and would most likely veto it, if it gets House and Senate approval. The current actions around DACA however have shifted the mood both of the public and legislators. Most are against throwing kids under the bus so to speak. Our Mass Senate has passed a resolution to protect these children, and young adults… So the mood may be changing. This article goes into the detail around what happened in June.. Perhaps as the mood of the Nation changes, the threat of financial punishment will diminish. We hope so, and will be trying to persuade our Senator that her support is needed , and it is safer to step up.

IMMIGRATION

Calls needed to The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

Last Monday evening, Aug. 21, Representative Juana Matias visited The Immigration Task Force. She explained the value of the “Safe Communities Act” officially known as “An Act to protect the civil rights and safety of all Massacusetts residents, House billNo. 3269 and Senate bill No. 1305. The intent of the bill is to protect undocumented residents of our communities from being arrested or detained solely on the basis of a civil immigration request. It does not however, prevent law enforcement from arresting a person in the course of a criminal investigation.

I invite all of the members of the HDCC to read the entire bill, both Senate and House versions. I believe the enactment of this bill could go a long way to reassuring immigrants in our communities who are not involved in criminal activities that they are safe. It could also serve to encourage them to report to local police criminal activities that they witness in their neighborhoods. Overall this bill could mean safer communities for all of us.

Right now the bill is in the hands of The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security. I include here the names and contact info of the Chair and Vice Chair of that committee both on the Senate side and House side. I spoke to Rep. Juana Matias’ office and was asked to contact members of that committee. It will be that committee’s decision whether to move or not move the bill forward to the legislature for a vote. Please try to make as many calls/e-mails as you can. Thanks. Kathy Rurak

ENVIRONMENTAL

Defenders of Wildlife – this is a good point of attack against the Trump Environmental Policy

Monumentally Misguided

The Trump administration’s “review” of national monuments is based on a faulty legal premise.

Nearly a quarter billion acres of public lands and waters – 11,335,910 acres of terrestrial national monuments and 217,899,925 acres of marine national monuments – are under threat from the Trump administration.

They’re at it again. Today Congress reviewed six bills over the course of two legislative hearings in both the House and Senate that would undermine the Endangered Species Act (ESA). This is just the latest chapter in the ongoing assault against the ESA by one of the most anti-wildlife Congresses we’ve seen in decades.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Jobs not Jails

Background: A coalition of community, religious, and union organizations has come together behind an omnibus bill to improve Massachusetts’ systems of criminal justice, end mass incarceration, and re-invest in our schools and in job-creation.

Our neighborhoods are filled with people who cannot find life-sustaining work. Our prisons are filled with people who suffer from addiction or trauma, and people who struggled in school, yet they are serving long mandatory minimum sentences that do not address the underlying problem. Our nation has 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s prisoners; the most in the world. Much of this over-incarceration is driven by racial bias at every stage in the criminal justice process.

ENVIRONMENT

This is a very clear call to environmental legislative action for the nest year. Call your Senators and Reps to see where they stand on environmental action.

2. 100% Renewable Energy Communities

Our dependence on dirty energy like oil and gas pollutes our air and water and harms the health of Massachusetts’ communities. Pipelines threaten our safety and our green spaces. Pollution from fossil fuels are changing our climate and increasing the frequency of droughts, severe storms, and other damaging weather events.

We need local action across the globe to advance our clean energy future – and that’s why Mass Power Forward has decided to launch local clean energy campaigns across the state.

IMMIGRATION

Merrimack Valley Project

SEIU #509 Stands Up for Quality Care & a Living Wage

MVP leaders joined member group SEIU #509 yesterday to rally with direct care workers for a fair contract in their negotiations with Fidelity House. Fidelity House workers provide support, home care and residential services for more than 700 individuals and families across the Merrimack Valley. Also at the rally were State Reps. Marcos Devers, Frank Moran and Mayor Daniel Rivera.

According to SEIU #509 workers at Fidelity House, here’s what needs to change:

High turnover that harms the care of the individuals they serve.

Wasting critical resources on temporary agency staff.

Wages have fallen behind other organizations providing the same services; it’s time for Fidelity House to pay a living wage.

Action Alert: Support people with disabilities, and the workers who care for them. Contact Fidelity House CEO Yvonne Allard ([email protected] or 978-685-9471) and tell her people with disabilities deserve quality care, and that means investing in front-line staff who provide critical services.

Environment

Mass Climate Action Network

Join MCAN and other Indivisible groups for an informational webinar!
On Thursday August 10th, MCAN will be hosting a webinar to discuss important clean energy initiatives that are before the current legislation on Beacon Hill. Our focus is on carbon pricing, renewable portfolio standards, and expanding solar energy.

URGENT: Donald Trump and EPA Admin Scott Pruitt announced the repeal of the EPA’s Clean Water Rule, giving polluters a pass to dump waste in our waterways and threaten the drinking water of 117 million Americans.

Trump and Pruitt’s attack on the Clean Water Rule is their first step towards gutting the entire Clean Water Act and the nearly 45 years of water protections that go with it. We can’t let this happen. Send a message today to tell Scott Pruitt to keep his hands off our water!

Healthcare

Our Revolution

Health care is a human right. There is something horribly wrong when a country as wealthy as America cannot help guarantee what countries far smaller than ours do. As part of our Summer for Progress we are pressuring Democrats and Republicans to support Medicare for All legislation in the House. HR 676, the Medicare for All Act, could determine the fate of millions of uninsured people. Your support is critical in our grassroots effort to demand that our Representatives in Congress support the same level of health care for all Americans that they receive compliments of the American taxpayers.

Raise Up Massachusetts

WHY ALL WORKERS NEED $15

Our legislation, H.2365 (filed by Rep. Dan Donahue) and S.1004 (filed by Sen. Ken Donnelly), would raise the state’s minimum wage by $1 each year over four years until it is $15 an hour in 2021. The minimum wage would then be adjusted each year to rise along with increases in the cost of living.

Action: Call state reps and senators: Support School Education on Substance Abuse: MA House Bill H.2845. Introduced by By Representative DiZoglio of Methuen and Senator O’Connor Ives.

Action: Ask your state representatives to support legislation that would improve treatment and rehab programs — Bill S.1103:

Introduced by Mr. Keenan, a petition (accompanied by bill, Senate, No. 1103) of John F. Keenan, James M. Cantwell, Elizabeth A. Malia, Eric P. Lesser and other members of the General Court for legislation to provide access to full spectrum addiction treatment services. Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery.

Raise Up Massachusetts: Living Wage and Paid Leave/Medical Leave

Action: Ask your Senators and Reps to support the following legislation:

Living Wage: House Bill H.2365 (Rep Dan Donahue) and Senate Bill S.1004 (Sen Ken Donnelly) would raise the state’s minimum wage by $1 a year over 4 years until it is $15 in 2021 with cost of living increases.

Paid Leave:H.2172 (Rep Ken Gordon) and S.1048 (Karen Spilka) would allow employees to take paid leave for serious injury, care for an ill family member, or for a new child.

Environment

Mass Power Forward: Natural Gas Pipeline Leaks. There are 20,000 gas leaks in Massachusetts, including hundreds in Haverhill that threaten health and the environment. Is there one near your home? (There’s two near mine!)

Action: Call Reps and Senators and ask them to support Bills H2683/ S1845 — Stop Charging Customers for Lost Gas!

“Hello, my name is [name] and I am calling to ask the Attorney General to come out publicly to defend the DACA program. This program has changed the lives of hundreds of thousands of immigrant youth across the country and it must be protected. I expect my attorney general to support the immigrant community and protect DACA.”

Action: For Immigration Update or to join: Contact the Haverhill Democratic City Immigration Task Force through Kathy Rurak 978-407-2945,[email protected]

Join the Jewish Alliance for Law and Social Action’s healthcare phone bank! Please contact [email protected] for information. You can do this at home or join the Brookline group Tuesday, July 11, from 6-8 p.m.

Call Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey: tell them you support resisting by procedure by withholding consent and filibustering by amendment. More information here. Call daily. Tell your friends; share on social media. Also ask our senators to demand that this health care bill have hearings. Ask them to take leadership roles in condemning this process. And while you’re on the phone with them, share your ACA story! Have you or a loved one been helped by Medicaid? Tell them your story. Continue to reach out to your red state friends and family, asking them to call on their senators to oppose Trumpcare.

Continue the momentum on Automatic Voter Registration (AVR): Review the fact sheet on the AVR bill (S373/H2091). If your Senator and Representative are co-sponsors, call and thank them and ask them to urge the Joint Committee on Election Laws to report the AVR bill out favorably and soon.

From the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts: Criminal Justice Reform. Contact your Senator about criminal justice reform! On July 12, the Massachusetts Senate is holding a retreat to determine which criminal justice reform bills to focus on. Let your Senator know the Governor’s bill is not enough; please ask for support for the following bills:

Call Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey: tell them you support resisting by procedure by withholding consent and filibustering by amendment. More information here. Call daily. Tell your friends; share on social media.

Call Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey: ask them to demand that this health care bill have hearings. Ask them to take leadership roles in condemning this process.

Call Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey: do you have an ACA story? Have you or a loved one been helped by Medicaid? Tell them your story.

Soon, the Senate will vote on replacing the ACA. It’s estimated that 23 million people will lose health insurance coverage; many more will be priced out of the market. Will you please contact your senator and ask him or her to

Commit to voting against any bill that will result in anyone losing coverage.

Commit to voting against any bill that does not guarantee people with pre-existing conditions won’t see higher premiums.

Vote against to any bill that eliminates funding for Medicaid.

If you’d like to see the impact of the new health care bill in your state, please click this link. This will also give you contact information for your senator and legislative aids.

Do you have friends and family in any other state with Republican senators? Please email, message, or text them the above.

The Trump administration is making plans to roll back Obamacare’s birth control mandate. A draft regulation obtained by Vox would allow all employers to opt out of the Affordable Care Act requirement to cover birth control at no cost to the patient. Religious organizations wouldn’t have to notify the government at all. “This rule would mean women across the country could be denied insurance coverage for birth control on a whim from their employer or university,” says Dana Singiser, Planned Parenthood’s vice president for policy.

Call Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey: tell them you support resisting by procedure by withholding consent and filibustering by amendment. More information here. Call daily. Tell your friends; share on social media.

Call Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey: ask them to demand that this health care bill have hearings. Ask them to take leadership roles in condemning this process.

Call Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey: do you have an ACA story? Have you or a loved one been helped by Medicaid? Tell them your story.

Soon, the Senate will vote on repealing and replacing the ACA. It’s estimated that 23 million people will lose health insurance coverage; many more will be priced out of the market. Will you please contact your senator and ask him or her to

Commit to voting against any bill that will result in anyone losing coverage.

Commit to voting against any bill that does not guarantee people with pre-existing conditions won’t see higher premiums.

Vote against to any bill that eliminates funding for Medicaid.

If you’d like to see the impact of the new health care bill in your state, please click this link. This will also give you contact information for your senator and legislative aids.

Do you have friends and family in any other state with Republican senators? Please email, message, or text them the above.

The Trump administration is making plans to roll back Obamacare’s birth control mandate. A draft regulation obtained by Vox would allow all employers to opt out of the Affordable Care Act requirement to cover birth control at no cost to the patient. Religious organizations wouldn’t have to notify the government at all. “This rule would mean women across the country could be denied insurance coverage for birth control on a whim from their employer or university,” says Dana Singiser, Planned Parenthood’s vice president for policy.

Hot!June 13: National Call-in Day. We need an independent commission to investigate Russia’s meddling with our elections and Trump’s obstruction of justice. Tell your Representative and Senators to support bringing the Protect Our Democracy Act (H.R. 356 and S.27) to the floor!

Join the Campaign for Guaranteed Healthcare by filling out the form at this link. You will receive email and text updates about how to get involved in this social movement where you live, including public demonstrations, lobbying efforts, call-in days, outreach efforts, and more.

H.R.10 – Financial CHOICE Act of 2017 — has passed the House. Now it goes to the Senate. Let your senators know that this bill is not acceptable — we do not want our financial protections stripped away.

Homelessness prevention: Please sign our 1-minute online action to your State Rep and Senator. This month, the Legislature will be finalizing its budget recommendations for the year ahead, and the choices they make will have deep impacts for people experiencing homelessness and housing instability. The action includes focus on the campaign to ensure that families experiencing homelessness do not have to stay in places not meant for human habitation before accessing shelter, the expansion of the RAFT homelessness prevention program, and increased funding for housing and services for unaccompanied youth experiencing homelessness. Click here and enter your address to get started: http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51618/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=22501. More details about our advocacy are here: http://www.mahomeless.org/advocacy/item/fy-18-conference-committee-budget

Jim Braude, on his show Greater Boston, interviewed people around the city, showing people pictures of the three democratic candidates for governor and asking if people recognized them. Only two persons knew any of the three democrats running for governor. Last week, the newsletter said this: “In the main convention hall, we met three candidates for governor for the 2018 election: Jay Gonzales, Bob Massie, and Setti Warren. Please get to know these candidates — each one can provide a solid challenge to Charlie Baker.” This week, use social media to get their names in front of people. Share their pages with your friends; check these candidates out on social media. Let’s start to get the word out that we’ve got three great candidates for governor!

June 4, 2017

Join me in taking the Climatarian Challenge. Download the app, and then try to stay within your carbon budget of 8000 carbon points for a month by recording your meals (it’s easy — just click “fish,” “chicken,” “vegetables” — the app doesn’t want the details). After each recorded meal, the app will subtract the carbon footprint of that meal from your remaining carbon budget. I thought I was helping the planet by eating local — I was surprised to find out that maybe not.

Join Elizabeth Warren’s DeVos Watch: “To ensure that the Education Department acts in the public interest, Congress and the public must demand accountability.”

No Kid Hungry, an initiative of the non-profit organization Share Our Strength, has access to information about groups serving free meals nationwide as part of the the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Summer Food Service Program. If you know a school-aged child in need of breakfast & lunch this summer, simply text “FOOD” to 877877. After you send them your zip code, you will receive a message back with a location closest to you where a child get free summer meals. Spanish speakers can text “COMIDA” to that same number.

The Trump administration is making plans to roll back Obamacare’s birth control mandate. A draft regulation obtained by Vox would allow all employers to opt out of the Affordable Care Act requirement to cover birth control at no cost to the patient. Religious organizations wouldn’t have to notify the government at all. “This rule would mean women across the country could be denied insurance coverage for birth control on a whim from their employer or university,” says Dana Singiser, Planned Parenthood’s vice president for policy.

Click on the links below to see what other actions Democrats are focusing on.

Health Care

The Senate has rejected the House version of the health care bill and is starting over, writing its own version. But they are doing it in private: no hearings, no expert testimony, no chance for amendments. This week’s action items focus on this. Senate GOP defends writing its healthcare bill in private, and there is a list of these senators below.

Call your senators and ask them to speak out against this outrage: the Senate health care bill must have public hearings.

Do you know people in any of the states these senators represent: family, friends, organization members, listserv acquaintances? Reach out to these people one on one — maybe one a day — and ask them to visit, call, or write their senator to speak out against the senate bill’s being written in private.

Send these senators postcards — not letters — and let them know how you feel. Here is a sample postcard:

I am outraged that the health care bill is being written in private by 13 men, no women, and no democrats. A bill this important needs public sessions so experts can speak about the effects of the bill. Lawmakers must also be able to offer amendments changing the legislation. Are you afraid that the American people will not like what you are doing? Shame on you!

Call your representative and ask them to rally behind Rep. John Conyers’ bill, H.R. 676, the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act – a single payer universal healthcare plan. Ask your senators to continue the fight against big Pharma by supporting Senator Bernie Sanders’ bill, S.469 – the Affordable and Safe Prescription Drug Importation Act, which would help curb the skyrocketing cost of drugs by allowing us to import cheaper prescription drugs from Canada.

Call your representative to oppose the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act. Here is information on why this bill is dangerous to our privacy.

Trump has just signed an executive order taking aim at an American tradition and principle that is beloved by all — public lands, waters and national monuments. He has ordered a review that could potentially roll back safeguards for lands and waters that are currently protected from destructive development for generations to come. This is unacceptable and we the people will RESIST. Call the Department of Interior now at 855-636-8150 to demand it protect America’s national monuments and public lands and waters.

The National Resources Defense Fund urges you tocall Scott Pruitt’s EPA office at (202) 272-0167.Tell the operator that you want to leave a message for Administrator Pruitt. Trump’s drastic cuts to EPA’s budget are outrageous and irresponsible, and you expect Pruitt to fight to ensure that his agency has the resources it needs to defend our environment and our health. You oppose any attempts by President Trump to weaken fundamental environmental protections like the Clean Power Plan and Clean Water Rule.

Immigration

Tell your members of Congress to speak out against Trump’s immigration and deportation policies. Taxpayer dollars must not be used to fund hate and discrimination. Organizing for Action has a petition here.

Presidential tax returns

Call your senators and congressional representative: Encourage them to support the Presidential Tax Transparency Act (S.26 / H.R.305) to require Trump and all future presidents to disclose their tax returns publicly. There is a petition here as well.

Family and medical leave:

Homeless:

HOMES for FAMILIES ACTION NEEDED NOW! The House Ways and Means (HWM) Budget proposal was released April 10th. The proposal includes increases to housing and homelessness programs. Homes for Families is working on a few key amendments to advance our collective efforts to end homelessness in the Commonwealth and we need your help. Take action today by calling your Representative and asking them to co-sponsor key amendments. Open this document Massachusetts homelss bills to see the message that you can send via telephone or email to our legislators, and links to the bills being filed in the Massachusetts legislature.

5 Minute Actions

Newsletter

The HDCC publishes a newsletter every 1-2 months on the website homepage. If you also want to receive it on your email click here to be put on the email list. If you also want to keep up with events just look above in the Upcoming Events section. You can view previous newsletters by clicking on the "Older Entries" link at the bottom of the current newsletter on the Homepage.